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Author Biography

John Weaver is an Assistant Professor of Intelligence Analysis at York College in Pennsylvania (USA), a retired DOD civilian from the United States’ Intelligence Community, and has served as an officer in the U.S. Army (retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel). Since entering active duty, he has lived and worked on four continents and in 19 countries spending nearly eight years overseas (on behalf of the US government). His experience includes multiple combat deployments, peace enforcement, peacekeeping, humanitarian relief and disaster assistance support in both conventional and unconventional/non-traditional units. Most recently, John has trained and certified multinational NATO reconnaissance teams based in The Netherlands, Germany and Spain for worldwide deployment in full spectrum mission sets. He has also personally led several reconnaissance missions throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia (including multiple missions in Afghanistan); none of his team members have ever been injured or killed in the line of duty. He has received formal training/certification in the following areas from the US Department of Defense: Survival/Evasion/Resistance/Escape (high risk), communications equipment & communications planning (FM radio, land line & satellite communications, encryption, and the use of cryptographic devices), digital camera use & digital photography courses, US Joint Forces Command joint intelligence course, US Special Operations Command counterintelligence awareness course (USSOCOM CI), US Joint Forces Command counterintelligence awareness training (USJFCOM CI), counterinsurgency course, joint antiterrorism course, defense against suicide bombing course, dynamics of International terrorism, homeland security and defense course, the joint special operations task force course (JSOTF), defensive driving course, vehicle emergency drills (battle drills), composite risk management, and more. Additionally, he graduated from NATO's Combined Joint Operations Center course in Oberammergau Germany, the Air Command and Staff College, and the Joint & Combined Warfighting School. John earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business management from Towson University in 1990, graduated from Central Michigan University with a Master of Science in Administration degree in 1995, earned a Master of Operational Arts and Science degree from the U.S. Air Force's Air University in 2004, and graduated from the University of Baltimore with a Doctorate in Public Administration in 2013.

Abstract

In mid-December, 2017, President Trump released his National Security Strategy (NSS). It is the keystone document that will provide the azimuth for prominent government leaders to guide them though the execution of core functions at federal departments, agencies and other governmental organizations in the months and years to come. It has 55 pages of content; it outlines essential issues that he and by extension, his National Security Council, see as of paramount concern for the United States. Broadly, the president looks to (1) protect the homeland, (2) promote U.S. prosperity, (3) leveraging strength to preserve peace, and (4) advance U.S. influence in the world (NSS, 2017, p. 4).